Walk the Edge of Shadows
by whimsycality
Summary: Alternate Universe in which Michael was the first to let in a human, long before they were old enough to understand the consequences. First in series stretching from preshow all the way through. Will be Polar.
1. Chapter One: A Beginning

**Title:** Walk the Edge of Shadows; Book One in the Chains of Fate Series

**Spoilers:** All of Roswell is up for grabs though it seriously differs from canon

**Category: **UC, AU, Ensemble Fic

**Rating: **Mature

**Pairings:** Pre-Polar, Max (and Maria) Friendly, no real pairings until the second sequel

**Summary: **Alternate Universe in which Michael was the first to let in a human, long before they were old enough to realize the consequences.

**Warning: **This story will depict scenes of child abuse, not graphic.

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Roswell belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

**A/N:** I've always loved Michael when portrayed as a big brother and wanted to explore that without changing the relationships of the original characters. I considered making Liz his sister as I've seen that done a few times and enjoyed it but that would make it a little creepy when I put them together romantically so instead I created an OC, hopefully I've avoided the dread Mary Sue.

Also I believe it is accepted show canon that Michael had several foster families before he went to Hank but I chose not to explore any of those and he's going to Hank at age 6 in my fic and not going anywhere else. I'm going with the theory that Michael's last name came from whoever found him and that Hank's last name is Whitmore which is the consensus I seemed to find on various boards and IMDB. (And my betas confirmed it!)

And once again to reiterate this is an ensemble fic and all characters friendly so there will be absolutely zero bashing of anyone, I think a fan of any character could read this, that was my goal anyways. I hope you all enjoy and you know I loooves the feedback :-D

_I walk the edge of shadows_

_I tread the brink of dreams_

_I linger in this otherworld_

_A repugnant soul weeping empty tears_

_I dare not face the sun_

_Blazing in the sky_

_For though I breathe this air_

_This home it is not mine_

_**Chapter One: A Beginning**_

_July 6, 1989_

The small boy peered at the empty room through his tousled brown hair, the faint echoes of screams still ringing in his ears. He had not meant to scare them; he just wanted to show them the trick he had learned. Pulling his knees to his chest, he rested his chin on them, furiously blinking back tears.

"I'll never show anyone again," he vowed, pushing the sadness down and burying it with anger.

"Why?" a voice asked, interrupting his descent into enforced solitude.

He raised his head in surprise to see a girl kneeling in front of him; a cloud of dark red curls surrounding her upturned face, her clear blue-green eyes filled with open curiosity. He didn't answer her, just stared as puzzlement and anger warred for control, both hiding the pain he had not managed to erase.

"It was neat. What you did."

That startled a reaction out of him and before he could stop himself he asked, "But, the others? They were...They didn't like it."

She smiled. "They're silly," she said, and then touched his hand, still smiling. "Will you show me? What you can do?"

He watched her for a moment and then reached out, cupping his hands together in the space between them and meeting her gaze with a tentative smile of his own as his hands began to glow, radiating a pure white light that filled the room.

Her face shone with delight as she returned his small smile with a big grin. His smile widened and the wall he had begun to build around himself started to crumble.

_August 19, 1989_

A group of them had backed her into a corner; their childish faces made ugly with cruelty. "Why do you keep hanging out with that freak?" the oldest girl asked, her hands reaching out to pinch painfully.

Their expressions were dark with malice as they loomed over her and she struck back with the only weapon an angry six-year-old had; "You're the freaks!"

One of the boys shoved her to the floor, all five of them smiling as she yelped in pain.

A moment later they collapsed with a shocking suddenness to the ground in a pile at her feet, felled by the equally angry six-year-old standing with raised hands in the doorway. Her tear-stained face turned towards him, a smile lighting her eyes as he walked forward, and with a gentleness belying the rage on his face, pulled her to her feet and led her out of the room.

They hid themselves behind a tree in the orphanage's small backyard, just sitting quietly for a few minutes - one watching the ladybug crawling across her palm, the other watching the clouds floating placidly in the sky.

The boy brought his gaze down to the girl as the small red insect took flight, hovering between their faces before disappearing into the blades of grass, and then he reached out and touched the finger shaped bruises on her arms, the dark marks disappearing in a trail of white light.

Her mouth formed a perfect circle of surprise before curving into a smile. "New trick?"

He smiled back, the expression grown more natural with practice. "New trick."

_October 3, 1989_

The social worker leaned on the windowsill, running fingers through her limp blonde hair and then across her forehead in an attempt to wipe away the beads of sweat. The small green yard below looked like a cool oasis in the midst of the dry desert heat, and for a brief moment she wished that she were one of the children running carelessly back and forth, their laughter faintly audible through the glass.

Blinking away the haze of reverie her gaze was drawn to the only two children sitting apart from the merriment, their backs to one of the two trees, clearly visible only from her vantage point and invisible to the rest of the children.

An interesting pair the two made, and a common one these past few months - the boy without a past and the girl who, one could only hope, did not remember hers. She sighed and pushed herself away from the window, fighting off the exhaustion that resulted from overwork.

The girl's future should be much brighter from here on out, she thought with a faint smile, fingering the papers sitting atop her desk. The final signature had been obtained and she had become the legal ward of the state of New Mexico and, as such, able to be fostered out as quickly as possible. She was a beautiful little girl and quite bright; with any luck would soon have a family that would choose to adopt rather than let her go.

She spared a brief moment of worry that taking her away from the one person she had seemed to bond with would not be healthy at that stage but brushed it away. She was only six and would soon make new friends wherever she went. It would all work out.

These were the moments that made her job worth it and she was quite sure that the little girl would be ecstatic to have a new family.

_October 27, 1989_

The woman stared at the little girl sitting in front of her; trying to recall the certainty she had felt just three weeks before. Her fragile face was flushed with defiance, her aquamarine eyes hard with a determination that was shocking and quite frankly disturbing in one so young.

The little girl, the sweet, beautiful little girl in front of her, had screamed, fought, destroyed property, frightened other children, frightened parents, and successfully gotten herself removed from not one but two foster homes in the past two and a half weeks.

The only reason she would give was that he needed her and she needed him and that no matter what they could not keep them apart. And she believed her, she believed that this six-year-old girl would fight and win every battle to take her away and she had no doubt that he would do the same.

Somehow he had known and both times the parents, red-faced with frustration, had brought her back to their door, he had been waiting, sitting on the steps with a smile on his face. She sighed and leaned back in her chair; somehow she was going to have to find a family that would take them both.

The two of them grinned at each other; both knowing that that had been the last time the lady would try and take her away. They made their way back to their tree, waiting until the coast was clear and then hiding themselves in its branches.

He reached into the small hole in the trunk where they stashed the few little treasures they had collected over the past months, and pulled out a small pocket knife one of the older children had left behind when they went to their new family.

They had discussed it before she was taken the second time; they wanted a way to bond themselves so that everyone would know that they were really brother and sister, no matter what the nice lady said. The teacher that came every week had read them a story about the Indians and how they would swear to become brothers, their blood binding them forever. And with all the serious enthusiasm of childhood they had decided it was the perfect solution.

He drew the small blade over his hand first, wincing as the red line appeared, then handed it over to her and watched as she did the same.

She set the knife down between them and held her hand out, her eyes sparkling with suppressed joy.

He clasped it with his own and whispered with a smile, "Together forever."

"Forever," she agreed, watching in awe as their hands began to glow.


	2. Chapter Two: Necessity of Hope

_**Chapter Two: Necessity of Hope**_

_January 13, 1990_

The social worker watched the man sitting in the chair in front of her for the third time that week. His appearance was that of a clean cut business man, his brown hair just starting to gray and thin, and his body was still fit beneath the charcoal suit, only a faint hint of a gut beginning to show. Last week was the first time he had come in to see her, and his decision to foster at exactly that time seemed nothing short of a miracle.

Apparently he was soon to propose to his long time girlfriend, and knowing that neither of them could have children, wanted to surprise her with a little one they could call their own. He had a decent job at a plant outside of town and was up for a promotion. His home was nice, small, but clean and well cared for.

She had checked his story out, speaking to coworkers and friends, and the consensus was that he was a nice guy. A little on the antisocial side, but on the whole a decent person and actually, she had thought to herself, the loner tendencies could be seen as a plus since he was unlikely to have a hard time giving up his social life to take care of a child.

Originally he had just wanted a little boy, but when she had explained the situation to him, he had agreed to take both of them. She stood with a smile growing on her face, relieved that she could start worrying about the three children due to be coming in that week and would no longer be searching for a home for her two most quiet inmates.

Taking his hand, she shook it and said in a light tone, "I think that's everything, Mr. Whitmore. Come back tomorrow and we'll finish up that paperwork and you can take your new family home."

Hank smiled back as he shook her hand, doing his best to hide his relief. His boss had told him in confidence that the one thing holding him back from the promotion was that corporate worried he was not the responsible stable type.

Knowing that his girlfriend of sorts would never consider settling down with him, despite what he had said to the woman before him, he decided to try the one other thing that just screamed responsibility, raising children.

He had planned on fostering a little boy since he figured that would be the easiest on him, but when the woman had pointed out that by taking two of them, he would be providing each of them with a playmate and thus assuring himself more alone time, supposedly with the soon to be Mrs. Whitmore, he had agreed without hesitation.

Besides, with two of them that meant twice the government money and less of his own hard earned cash would go towards purchasing kid things.

"Thank you Miss. Loman, I really appreciate this and I just know Gloria will be thrilled, I'll come by around three o'clock?" She nodded and added a few congratulatory comments that he brushed off with a smile and escorted him towards the door, reminding him of the safety considerations he needed to check at his house that night before waving him to his car.

He smiled and nodded absently, realizing that he would need to find a more secure place for his small liquor stash. He really should give it up, he thought; it had not been a healthy habit even living alone and he supposed it would be worse when he had kids around, especially since he knew he tended to get angry when drunk and it would not just be the TV he was ranting at from then on.

Promising himself he would throw it out as soon as he got home, he took the road back to the plant, a miniscule part of him wondering just how much his life was going to change.

_January 14, 1990_

The little girl took her brother's hand as the lady led them into her office, that time to a daddy that wanted both of them. They both looked up at the man, who seemed incredibly tall as he stood next to Miss Loman, who smiled down at them as she spoke. "Kids, this is Mr. Whitmore. He'll be taking care of you from now on."

They both nodded, their small faces serious as they turned towards him, the little girl speaking first. "Thank you for wanting us, Mister."

He smiled at her. "You're welcome, Raelyn, right?"

"She likes to go by Lyn," Michael said, his voice soft but firm as he glanced up at the man.

Hank looked surprised, but still managed a smile even as inwardly he fought down an irrational surge of anger at the little boy's show of spirit. "I'm very happy to have both of you come live with me."

Lyn smiled tentatively at him, still a little nervous, but felt her brother tighten his grip on her hand and squeezed back reassuringly, knowing that he too was afraid.

They waited quietly while the man talked with the lady and signed some papers, then followed them both out to his car, the man carrying the one bag they had between them of clothes and a few treasures rescued from their tree. He helped them into the backseat of the car and with one last glance at the building they had just left they were gone, never to return.

x

Michael did not know if he liked Mister Whitmore or not but he had decided to be as good as he could manage. The nice lady had been worried about them and he wanted Lyn to be happy, so he smiled and even talked some as the man showed them around his house.

It was smaller than the orphanage but nicer, with furniture that looked new and soft carpeting. Their room was bigger than either of their rooms had been before and they each had a small bed with a table next to it.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow and get you guys some clothes and things, maybe even a few toys," the man said, smiling down at them.

"Thank you," Michael replied, doing his best to sound grateful even though something about the man made him feel funny.

_'Michael?'_ he heard in his mind and looked at his sister in surprise, he had talked to her before like that but she had never been able to talk to him.

The man told them 'good night' and closed the door behind him, leaving them to get ready for bed. It was earlier than they normally went to sleep, but he supposed that the mister did'nt know that. They both sat down on the floor between their beds and were quiet for a moment.

_'You can talk like this now?'_

'_Yes. You were afraid, I could feel it and I wanted to talk to you and then I did.'_

He nodded, accepting the explanation. They had become real siblings and maybe she was going to learn to do everything he could do.

_'I'm scared too. I don't think I like Mister Whitmore. The lady liked him but he feels...'_

'_Wrong,'_ Michael finished for her as she trailed off.

She nodded and bit her lip, her large eyes showing worry and fear.

_'I'll protect you always,' _he promised and she smiled, reaching out to take his hands in her own as they connected, strengthening their sibling bond, not knowing that it was the only thing that would keep them going through the trials and tests to come.

* * *

**A/N: **So just in case it wasn't clear, italicized comments are telepathic rather than spoken conversations.


	3. Chapter Three: Connections

_**Chapter Three: Connections**_

_March 9__th__, 1991_

Hank slammed the door of the car and swore under his breath. All the work he had put in, all the extra hours and bootlicking of the bosses, and they still gave that goddamn promotion to someone else. As he entered the house, he headed straight for the small cabinet above the refrigerator where he still kept a small stash of alcohol 'for special occasions.'

He grabbed the first bottle that came to his hand and chugged half of it, relishing the fiery burn that settled into the pit of his stomach and fed the blind rage that had been growing since he saw the pitying smile on his supervisor's face that morning.

His muscles burned with tension that would not go away so he punched the wall, and then stared at the jagged hole, finding the act of violence an almost soothing release for his anger. His vision blurred as he finished the bottle and dropped it into the sink, not even hearing the jarring tinkle of breaking glass as he grabbed another bottle from the cupboard and stumbled towards the living room.

Michael tightened his grip on his sister as they huddled on her bed and listened to Hank swearing loudly and yet another crashing noise. It was not the first time he had come home angry, but he had never broken anything before, and never yelled so loudly.

He wished the nice lady was here but she had told them on her visit last week that she would not be coming back ever again. Someone new would be checking on them, and only once in a while since they had lived here for so long.

_'What are we going to do Michael?'_ his sister asked, fear lacing her mental touch.

_'I don't know Lyn; I don't think there's anything we can do.'_

_April 30__th__, 1991_

Some kids in their class had been acting up and their teacher had decided to impose a seating chart in an attempt to break up the worst of the troublemakers. It was the first time Lyn and Michael had not sat next to each other and neither of them was very happy about it, although Michael was the only one actively glaring at the kids around him.

Lyn caught his expression and smiled to herself before a voice interrupted her thoughts and caused her gaze to turn to the seat next to her.

"Hi, I'm Liz," the tiny brunette girl said with a wide grin. "Sorry you can't sit next to your brother." Her grin faded a little and she rolled her eyes in the direction of the teacher. "They won't even let me and my sister be in the same class."

"That sucks," Lyn said, shuddering slightly at the thought of only seeing Michael at lunch and recess. Her brother was the only person she had ever felt safe with and she did not know what she would do if they tried to take him away from her.

"It does," Liz replied, but smiled at her anyways. "What did you bring in for show and tell?"

Lyn showed her the sparkly rock she had found and the two girls continued to talk, and even giggle for the next several hours, much to Lyn's surprise.

Meanwhile, across the classroom, Michael's glare had silenced all of the children near him but one.

"I brought handcuffs for show and tell. My dad let me put his handcuffs on Deputy Sacks once. Have you ever seen real handcuffs before?"

"No," Michael grunted when it became clear the other boy expected a reply.

"What did you bring?"

"Nothing." Lyn had forced him to bring the rattlesnake skin he had found but he had no intention of telling Kyle that and encouraging the boy to continue talking to him.

"The teacher won't like that," the boy said and Michael closed his eyes. Why did he talk so much?

The day passed quickly for Lyn who found herself enjoying her new friend's company, and slowly for Michael, who missed his sister, and found it difficult to get rid of the Valenti boy who seemed determined to become his friend despite no encouragement whatsoever.

When Hank showed up to get them, he had the mildly cheerful appearance that meant Gloria was coming over and that the two children would be sneaking out of their bedroom window and sleeping under the stars so as not to hear the various strange noises that happened on those nights.

But something was different that night. Gloria was not smiling when she showed up, and she was not carrying a six pack of Hank's favorite drink like usual. Lyn and Michael exchanged glances before carrying their bowls of mac and cheese into the bedroom and closing the door, unnoticed by the adults having a quietly tense conversation in the living room.

The conversation did not stay quiet for long and soon the two of them snuck out the window and curled up on the other side of the two loose boards in the back fence, trying to ignore the angry screams echoing from the house.

_June 2__nd__, 1991_

Raelyn did not know what to do. School was out and she was afraid, more afraid than she had ever been. School was their escape, their safe haven. They were in classes until the early afternoon, and then they stayed along with a few other kids who had single parents until Hank got off of work or home from the bar. But after that day they would be home all the time and Hank was home too.

He did not work as much anymore and he was always angry. Michael took her hand in his as the teacher walked them out to Hank's car for the last time, his own fear flowing through their bond, but not nearly as strong as his desire to protect her.

They could both feel the anger simmering beneath the surface of the man who smiled and greeted the teacher, and exchanged distressed glances as they slid into the back seat. The ride home was spent in silence, as was dinner, and they retreated to their room as soon as he sat down in front of the TV, beer in hand.

_'We need to do something Michael...I think…I think he might hurt us,' _she said, voicing her deepest fear as she watched her brother walk back and forth between their beds.

He stopped and turned towards her. _'That stuff he drinks - it makes him worse.'_

She nodded. They had both watched his rage increase when he drank out of the glass bottles and noticed that the more he drank, the more things he broke. Before the last time they had seen Gloria he had been bad, but since she stopped coming over he had gotten worse, much worse.

_'What if we got rid of it?' _her brother asked, hope tingeing his mental voice.

_'What if it makes him more angry?'_

Michael frowned. _'We'll wait. If he gets worse then we'll try it' _

'_Okay.'_

He stepped forward to stand in front of her and touched her forehead with his own. _'No matter what, I won't let him hurt you.'_


	4. Chapter Four: Defining Moments

**A/N: **I'm going with the theory that Max and Isabel started school in the 3rd grade and that is when they will be entering my story, while Michael and Raelyn have been going since they moved in with Hank.

* * *

_**Chapter Four: Defining Moments**_

_August 17__th__, 1991_

Last night he had broken the kitchen table, the loud crash awakening them from their slumber. They had found each other in the darkness and waited until all the noises were gone, then crept quietly out of their room and through the shadowed house. They found him passed out on the kitchen floor next to the remains of the wooden table they had eaten dinner on just hours before.

It was then that they implemented their plan; combining Lyn's powers with Michael's cleverness, they managed to get all the bottles out of the cabinet and wash them down the sink, before silently opening the door and depositing the empty bottles into the neighbor's trash can and creeping back to bed, hoping that the new day would bring about new changes in their lives.

They did not notice the one lone bottle that slipped out of Lyn's arms and into the scraggly bush by the front door.

His bellow of rage woke them later that morning, sending icy chills of terror crawling down their backs. Without a word they left the room and grasped each other's hand with a desperate need as they approached the rectangle of light that led to the kitchen.

He was standing next to the fridge, the door to the cupboard they had emptied was open, and he was holding one of the empty bottles in his hand.

"What did you do?" he growled, anger mottling his face. They darted fearful glances at each other before looking back at the towering man, not knowing how to respond. He stalked towards them, his fingers white around the neck of the bottle as he loomed over them, glaring down with bloodshot eyes. "Did you do this?" he asked once more, shaking the glass bottle in their faces.

Michael tightened his grip on Lyn's hand before reluctantly nodding, his eyes widening in shock a split second before a fist collided with his head and he fell to the ground, stars in his eyes.

"No!" he heard Lyn cry as she flung herself on him, looking up at Hank with fury in her eyes.

The man merely glared down at both of them. "Don't ever touch my things again." His voice was low with menace and his eyes promised worse to come. Then he turned away and headed for the door, never seeing the glass bottle come flying at his head from where he had left it on the counter, Lyn's eyes pale and icy with rage.

_'No!' _It was Michael's turn to cry as he raised his own hand and halted it in midair, waiting with baited breath until the door closed behind the dark-haired man, and then letting the bottle fall with a crash as it hit the floor.

His sister turned towards him, anger radiating from every bit of her tiny form. _'Why did you stop me? He deserved it!' _

'_We can't use our powers Lyn. People will hurt us_. _R__emember the orphanage?'_

She slumped as the anger left her, replaced once more by fear. Tears welled in her eyes as she reached out and touched his face where he knew a bruise was forming. _'He hurt you. What if he does it again?'_

He sat up and took her hand in his. _'I'll be okay. You have to make me a promise, Lyn.'_

She looked at him with newfound wariness. _'What?'_

_'You have to promise me that if he ever hurts you, you'll tell me. I will stop him.' _His mental voice was iron hard with determination.

She stared at him for a moment, understanding even with an eight-year-old's grasp of logic that that was wrong. Hank hurting her was the same as Hank hurting Michael. It was bad and wrong and it was not supposed to happen. But Michael loved her and he wanted her to be safe and to him it was not the same, so arguing with him would not help.

So she nodded her acquiescence as she reached back up to touch the already purple mark on his face, silently making her own promises. She was not the only one who needed protecting and even if she could not tell him, she could protect Michael, both with silence, and when they were older, with revenge. No matter what the nice teacher had taught them last year, sometimes people needed to pay for what they did.

_February 14__th__, 1992_

The teacher watched the two students sitting at the corner table with concern. The two had never been what you would call social butterflies, but there had been a marked decrease in the amount of time they spent socializing at all over the past few months, and it had become a rare occasion indeed if she saw either of them speaking to anyone other than each other.

Michael especially seemed to have no friends outside his sister while Lyn did talk to Liz Parker at recess, a little girl in Mrs. Bogue's class. The other teacher had suggested separating them and putting one in her class, but she had a feeling that would make the situation worse, not better.

She was worried about their home life. She knew they were foster children and their teacher the year before had given their foster father decent marks for participation and genuine caring, but she had yet to see that reflected in her class. He had only managed to make it to two parent teacher events, and both times something had seemed off about him, somehow fake.

And she was sure that she had seen a bruise on the little boy's arm that he had tried to cover up when he caught her looking. It could have simply been the result of a schoolyard fight, but it felt like more than that. She determined to go to the principal tomorrow and lodge a formal report.

The report never made it in; instead of writing it that night she was hit by a drunk driver on her way home from work. She survived the accident but by the time she returned to work, the children were no longer in her class, and all thoughts of them had long since passed.

_September 1__st__, 1992_

Raelyn stepped off the yellow bus, shading her eyes from the hot desert sun as she watched the children milling about the schoolyard. There was something almost electric in the air and she knew Michael could feel it as well. In fact, he had been feeling it longer than she had. The entire past week he had been tense and edgy in a way that had nothing to do with Hank's continuing drunken rages.

She slipped her arm through his and they walked towards their new classroom, both silent as they watched the laughing, happy faces surrounding them. As usual the teacher had seated them next to each other and they made their way to the small desks quickly, avoiding the chatting groups of children catching up from the long summer.

After a few minutes the teacher gently cleared her throat and the children scattered to their seats, all eyes falling expectantly on the figure in the front of the room. She had opened her mouth to speak when a knock on the classroom door interrupted her.

A few minutes of quiet conversation with the person on the other side of the door followed and then _they_ were led in - A small blonde girl and a dark-haired little boy who made her skin tingle - and when she glanced at her brother she could tell that his reaction was much stronger; his hands had tightened on the edge of the desk until his fingers turned white and his warm brown eyes were wide with shock.

Two pairs of eyes, both dark brown, turned unerringly towards the two of them, time standing still as a forgotten bond snapped to sudden life. The teacher's voice broke through the barrier between them and the rest of the world as she introduced Max and Isabel Evans, their new classmates.

The shock of recognition ran through her brother's body like a jolt of electricity and she felt his sudden joy as if it were her own, accompanied by the image of an outstretched hand and two bright lights. The teacher seated the two across the room and she could feel the tense energy radiating from all three of them as the long hours passed before they were dismissed for recess.

Michael practically flew to his feet when the teacher opened the door, his hand grabbing hers and pulling her to her feet just as quickly as he practically dragged her towards the door and to the secluded corner of the playground where they usually sat, lost in their own private world while the rest of children played and laughed. Somehow the two were already waiting for them, the connection, though newly formed, already strong enough to lead them there.

It was a silent meeting, not filled with the loud exuberance you might expect at a reunion of that magnitude but rather silent gestures and meaningful looks, a wealth of information exchanged in a few long minutes.

The small dark haired boy was the first to speak, his tone holding all the familiarity of a long friendship."I'm Max. This is my sister, Isabel." He finished his short speech with a faintly questioning glance towards her brother, followed by an uncertain one towards her.

She could feel the confusion that the two felt about her presence and for the first time she wondered if her brother would still want her for a sister now that he had his real family, and they _were_ his family. As if sensing her distress, his grip on her hand tightened and he pulled her forward so that she was standing right next to him. "I'm Michael and this is my sister, Raelyn."

The other two exchanged cautious glances and then the blonde spoke, her already beautiful, expressive face conveying her concern. "Your sister?"

He nodded firmly, leaving no room for dissent. "She's family now; I changed her." He raised their joined hands and turned them over, revealing the matching scars that crossed their palms, the only wounds he had never been able to erase.

Isabel relaxed, giving Lyn a friendly glance, clearly glad to have more family, but the boy, Max, looked even more worried. "Have you told anyone else?"

They both shook their heads in instant denial and then Raelyn spoke up, hoping to reassure him that she would never do anything to hurt any of them. "We would never. People, they would get mad and try to hurt us. We made a promise to keep it a secret forever."

The boy nodded, a sharp decisive gesture, and put his hand into the middle of the small circle formed by their bodies, all of them instinctively drawing closer. "Let's all promise."

They all placed their hands in the middle, the physical contact strengthening the connection between them and drawing her completely into it until she was one with all of them and not just Michael.

"Never tell," they all swore in quiet solemn voices, their determination strong despite their youth to protect each other from the unfriendly world around them.

For the rest of the break, they all sat on the ground, conversing sometimes silently, sometimes aloud. Friendships formed between all of them and between the two girls and two boys respectively, all glad to have someone to talk to besides each other, someone else who _knew_.

The day was all too quickly over, but they knew that they would always have each other from there on out, the bond between them too strong to break with time or distance, and tomorrow they would see each other again, their family reunited.


	5. Chapter Five: Family First

_**Chapter Five: Family First**_

_January 4__th__, 1993_

Lyn watched Liz and her sister across the schoolyard with sad eyes. She had liked Liz, and enjoyed talking to her, but ever since they'd found Max and Isabel, they didn't really spend time with anyone outside their group.

Michael did not mind as he had never really wanted any other friends, and Max did not seem to mind either, although she had noticed him watching Liz as well and wondered why since they had never spoken to each other.

Isabel was the one most reluctant to make new friends even though the teachers thought she was the most social of the four of them, and had asked her several times to help the two boys make more friends.

The teachers did not know that Isabel was afraid all the time. It was not like Michael's and her fear of Hank; Isabel was afraid that people would find out who they were and think they were freaks, and then take them away and do bad things.

The other little girl didn't seem to have a good idea of what those bad things were, but Lyn did, and she could not help but be afraid when she felt Isabel's fear. Maybe it was better that they didn't have other friends, that way there was less chance of anyone finding out.

That was why she had lied to the social worker who came once a year and told him that she and Michael were very happy, that Hank was a great dad. That was why Michael and she had cleaned the house and used their powers to get rid of the beer stains on the carpet before he came over.

If social services took them away, they might never see Max and Isabel again. Worse still, Michael and she might be separated from each other and placed in different foster homes. They all needed to stay together; it was the only way they would be safe.

_October 31__st__, 1993_

The two girls sat next to each other on the bench outside the school, watching the other kids run around the parking lot as they waited for Isabel's mom, their group leader, to gather the rest ofthe children.

Two little boys ran past, one dressed as a cowboy, and the other as a bright green alien. The cowboy was pretending to shoot the 'evil alien' with his toy pistol and both were shrieking with laughter.

Lyn felt the fear and sadness rising in her friend, always present but at that moment a sharp stabbing pain she felt as if it were her own. She squeezed her hand, sending love and affection through their bond. Isabel turned towards her with a smile, squeezing back until they were interrupted by the sound of a click. They both looked up to see Diane smiling and holding a camera. "You girls look so beautiful."

Isabel just smiled with all the superiority of the princess she was dressed as while Lyn blushed and stammered out a thank you. Isabel's mom had made her costume as well as Isabel's, and the difference between the shimmering blue silken dress of that year, and the makeshift ghost costume she had put together with old sheets the year before, had caused her to burst into tears when presented with it - almost as many as when the woman hugged her, confused by the crying her gift had caused.

Michael too had a costume that year and he was clearly uncomfortable in the blue tights and red cape as he stalked towards the bench, closely followed by a grinning Max, much happier in his own pirate costume.

Her brother slouched onto the bench, a dark scowl on his face and his arms folded defensively in front of him, the cape bunching oddly behind him like a hump.

The two girls collapsed into giggles, provoking an even deeper scowl. Max sat on the bench next to Isabel, still just grinning, while his mom snapped a few more pictures, determined to preserve these moments forever.

_May 12__th__, 1994_

Raelyn stared without shock at the man looming over her. She had known that this day would come, had been anticipating it for years with a combination of fear and anger that caused an almost constant ball of dread to tighten her stomach. Her cheek was throbbing and she could feel the blood trickling down her chin from where her lip had split.

The faintest flicker of guilt flashed in his dark eyes before he turned away, stalking towards the fridge to grab another beer before and returning to the living room with its trash covered couch. She slid down the wall to the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to hold back the tears.

Michael could never know. He would do something to Hank and he would get in trouble. He would use his powers and then they would take him away and she would never see him again. Her eyes burned and she leaned her head back, trying to ignore the pain in her face.

She needed a plan; Michael would never believe any lie she told him about the bruises, so she needed to get rid of them. And since she could not do it herself, that not being one of the abilities she had gotten over the past few years, there were only two people who could help her.

Michael was out with Max and his dad on a fishing trip, the only reason he had not been home, and it could not have been better timing for his friend to guilt him into it.

Half an hour later she reached up and tapped on Isabel's window, knowing better than to try and use the front door and the inevitable questions her appearance would command from Mrs. Evans. Isabel's face appeared at the window and her eyes widened in shock as she opened it, her hand instantly reached up towards the darkened swelling before she dropped it back to her side at Raelyn's pained wince.

"What happened?" she demanded as Lyn lowered her feet to the floor and then slid the window shut before turning back to face her.

"Hank." One word, filled with pain, rage, and fear, the word that defined her every nightmare.

Isabel's beautiful face darkened with anger and she half turned towards the door. "We have to tell."

"N..No!" Lyn said in a quiet but intense voice, hints of an old stutter coming through with her anxiety. "No one can know! You, you have to make it go away."

Isabel turned back to her, anger and worry in her eyes, "Why? What he did - it's wrong. He has to be stopped."

"If Michael finds out he, he'll do something. You know he will. And th..then they'll take him away and then they'll find out and then..." she trailed off, letting her friend fill in the blank with her own deepest fears.

She could see the fear for her family and the desire to stop Hank warring for control and waited, holding her breath, praying that the other girl would make the right choice.

Finally her friend, her sister, reached up and touched her face again, a tingling warmth spreading from the tips of her fingers. She closed her eyes in relief, both from the pain, and from the fear that had been practically choking her ever since Hank first raised his hand to her that morning.

Her eyes snapped back open and bored into Isabel's. "You can never tell anyone, not even if it happens again."

The blonde nodded reluctantly; there was nothing else she could do.


	6. Chapter Six: Growing Up

_**Chapter Six: Growing Up**_

_September 27__th__, 1995_

Liz was not in school anymore and Lyn was not the only one who noticed the way Max moped. Michael had teased him mercilessly about his 'crush' while Isabel seemed relieved that the one person outside their group that both Max and Lyn had been interested in was gone.

Raelyn was both sad and relieved. Sad because Liz was still the only friend she had made (she missed her more since she did not even have the option of talking to her) and relieved because she would not have to feel guilty anymore for ignoring her.

Isabel touched her shoulder to get her attention and she winced before she could hide her reaction. Isabel frowned and pulled her into a darkened corner of the playground, tugging her shirt down to expose the reddish brown bruise marring her pale skin. "You're supposed to tell me when he hurts you!" Isabel hissed quietly as she placed her hand over the bruise and watched it disappear under the soft glow.

Raelyn looked down at her feet. "I didn't want to worry you." In truth, she did not want Isabel to realize how frequent the abuse was becoming for both her and Michael. She was afraid that the other girl would break her promise and tell. So unless the bruises were somewhere that could be seen, which Hank was smart enough to avoid most of the time, she had not been telling Isabel and she did not plan to start then.

She knew Michael had a similar policy when it came to telling Max, and he had even less knowledge of what was going on than Isabel did, as Michael could heal all but the worst of his injuries on his own.

It was wrong, what was happening to them. Raelyn knew that, but it did not change the situation and telling would not help. Even if they stayed together and were able to stay in Roswell, which was a big maybe, if Michael knew what Hank had done to her, he would try to hurt him back and that would not end well.

There were too many things that could go wrong, too many things that could happen if anyone else found out, and she was not willing to take that risk. She needed Michael and he needed her so whatever they went through was worth it.

_December 14__th__, 1995_

Michael's head was throbbing and he stumbled to the kitchen for some ice. Hank had just found out that they were losing the house and his reaction had given Michael his worst black eye since the first time the man hit him when he was eight-years-old. He had managed to heal the visible signs of the bruise, but the headache remained and painkillers, assuming they had them in the house, did not seem to work for him.

Wrapping the ice in a towel that was only slightly dirty, he held it to his forehead and stalked back to his and Lyn's bedroom, wondering where they were going to live after the end of the month. Lyn was at Isabel's and didn't know yet; he didn't want to have to tell her but it would be worse if Hank was the one to do it.

Michael sat down on his too small bed and reached under the mattress to pull out the sketchbook Lyn had given him last Christmas. She had made it out of nice paper snagged from the Art teacher who came to their class once a week, and then bound it by heating rubber cement spread along the top with her powers. No money led to them being more creative in their gift giving.

Lyn had spent money on his birthday present though, nice expensive colored pencils from the arts and crafts store downtown. She had purchased them with the money Max and Isabel had given her for Christmas. When he had protested the waste of her money, she had just looked at him. Even at twelve he knew what _that_ look meant and had promptly shut up.

Right then he was glad for that present as it was his only way of releasing pent up emotions aside from blowing up things, and once he started that, he did not think he would be able to stop.

Two hours later, he set the pencils down and stared at the page. There was not even a sliver of white showing, black and red shapes covered the paper from edge to edge. It looked chaotic at first but after a moment you could see the symmetry to the angry lines, a face peering out from the dark morass.

He did not think that the face was human, but it looked familiar and tugged on the back of his mind. The picture disturbed him and after a moment he slid the sketchpad back under the mattress along with the pencils. When they moved he would have to find a new hiding spot.

_June 3__rd__, 1996_

Their room was so small that they could not have two beds so they had a cheap metal bunk bed that they shared. The trailer was small and battered and the trailer park was so loud, that it had taken Lyn and him three weeks before they actually slept through the night. It had not taken the kids at school long to hear about the move and only the fact that Michael had hit his growth spurt last year, and towered over most of them, protected the two from schoolyard taunting.

Hank only worked a couple of shifts a week, mostly relying on the money from the government to pay for the few bills, and his alcohol. Being drunk all the time and with Michael being larger and more agile, the abuse was less frequent, but when it did happen Hank had become much more vicious, and Michael was afraid that he would start on Lyn, so he made sure that she was never home alone with Hank.

Neither of them spent much time at home, instead either hanging out with Max and Isabel or spending time in the desert. Michael with his sketchbook and Lyn with the camera he had gotten her as her combined birthday present from Max, Isabel, and him.

His sister seemed to really enjoy taking pictures, and since he refused to show or display his sketches to anyone but her, their bedroom walls were covered in various photographs of the desert and its skittish wildlife.

Michael had begun to practice his powers more while they were in the desert, trying to perfect his control so that he didn't accidentally blow up Hank or the trailer the next time the man was drunk. Lyn practiced with him sometimes and while she was hopeless when it came to his explosive abilities, she could move things with more control and precision than he would ever have in his opinion.

Yesterday she had sent almost thirty stones floating in the air, spinning and weaving around him as he tried to blow them up. Needless to say he ended up washing dishes that night while she teased him for betting against her.

That day they were taking a break from practice; Lyn was sitting completely still on top of a rock waiting for the rattlesnake who lived underneath it to come out for a meal. The first time she had seen it hunting she had missed the shot, so she had looked up rattlesnake feeding habits and figured out when it was due for another meal.

Michael was sitting with his back against another rock near the edge of a ravine, sketching the view of the crevasse from above. The sun was in the center of the sky and consequentially the small canyon was completely lit up, perfectly revealing the multicolored stone walls and glinting off the small trace of water at the bottom.

With his powers, Michael was able to alter the colors to suit his needs and as a result was able to create a more accurate picture than his box of pencils normally would have afforded. Shading in a shadow cast by scrub brush growing on a ledge below his feet, he held the picture out before him and eyed it with a critical gaze. It was better than the last drawing he had done; the colors blended together seamlessly and it captured the spirit of the rough and sparse beauty of the desert, but he felt it was missing something.

A sudden click from behind him interrupted his thought process and he turned just in time to see Lyn's triumphant smile as the snake lunged at a lizard skittering past. Her camera clicked several times in succession as the creature's fangs sank into the lizard before it swallowed it whole through its enlarged jaws and slithered back under the rock.

Michael smiled at her pleased grin and tucked his sketchbook back in his backpack along with the colored pencils before standing up. "Ready to go? It's game night at the Evans," he said with forced cheer, causing her to giggle.

"You big baby, you know you have fun."

"Whatever," Michael replied flatly as he rolled his eyes before taking her camera and gently placing it in the front pocket of his backpack.

Lyn just laughed again and linked her arm through his as they walked towards the road. "I vote for Risk."

He grumbled to hide his smile; she knew that was his favorite.


	7. Chapter Seven: The Calm Before

_**Chapter Seven: The Calm Before**_

_November 13__th__, 1996_

Michael gave the ball a little extra oomph and watched triumphantly as it swished through the net, Max rolling his eyes as he punched him in the shoulder.

"You were the one who made the no powers rule, Michael."

"Rules are meant to be broken, Maxwell," he replied with a smirk after reaching down to snag the ball from the bush it had bounced into.

Max sighed, unsurprised by the response, then turned and walked away from the court. Heading for the swings where Lyn was sitting, he tossed one last comment over his shoulder. "I'm going to hang out with your sister until you decide to make cheating a rule so that you can break it."

Michael grinned, almost impressed by the crack, before shrugging unconcernedly and turning around to shoot hoops by himself.

Max collapsed forlornly into the swing next to the petite redhead and she gave him an understanding smile. "Michael being Michael again?"

He nodded and made a face. "Did Isabel abandon you again?"

Lyn gave him a lopsided grin as she nodded. "She wanted to check out that new store on 9th and didn't understand why I wasn't willing to walk three blocks to look at belts and purses."

Max kicked the ground, sending the swing backwards a few feet and asked in a long suffering and over dramatic tone, "Why do we put up with them?"

She giggled and started pumping her legs, swinging beside him for a few minutes in silence before tilting her head to meet his gaze. "Because they put up with us when I won't stop talking about school and you go all rule crazy."

He gently shoved her swing in mock indignation and she promptly shoved him right back, using her own powers to give her more strength and almost sending him careening into the metal frame. "Hey!"

"Oops," was all she said with a not quite innocent expression on her face and he squinted his eyes at her as he got his swing back under control.

"I think you're more like your brother than we give you credit for."

Before she could respond, they were both shoved out of their swings and onto the gravel, said brother standing over them smirking. "There's no one like me."

The two on the ground exchanged glances and then raised their hands in unison. Michael hit the ground and actually skidded a few feet backwards, dust flying and gravel raining down around him as his eyes widened in shock and not a little pain.

Max stood up and brushed himself off before bending down and offering Lyn his hand. "My lady."

She giggled as she took it and allowed him to pull her up. "Why thank you, kind sir." She shot a mischievous glance at her brother who was still gaping at them. "So nice to have a knight here to rescue me from this uncouth knave."

That seemed to pull Michael out of his stupor and he jumped to his feet, a wide and slightly maniacal grin crossing his face. "I'll show you a knave."

Lyn and Max exchanged another glance and then turned to run as Michael pelted after them, both still laughing. They didn't exactly pay attention to their route in their haste to get away and Lyn crashed into a newly returned Isabel, sending her, her bags, and the purchases they contained, flying onto the ground.

Once Isabel recovered from the shock, she lit into the two boys furiously, hands on her hips as they scrambled to find everything she dropped and paled at her threats if so much as one thing was damaged. Lyn was exempt from her wrath, as Isabel incorrectly assumed that she had been an innocent victim, and was standing slightly behind the blonde trying desperately not to laugh.

Eventually the four left the park, Michael and Max carrying Isabel's bags as they headed towards the Evans'. Lyn sidled up to Max and whispered in his ear, "I think the dragon won this contest, brave knight."

They both snorted as Michael and Isabel shot them suspicious looks. "I think you're right, fair lady. Next time I'll send the knave first. Maybe after a meal the beast will be calmer."

At that Lyn could not hold her merriment in anymore and dissolved into helpless giggles, tears streaming down her face as Max tried to support her through his own chuckles and without dropping Isabel's bags. It was another losing battle and eventually he gave up, both of them falling to the ground laughing while their siblings stared on in bemusement.

_August 12__th-__13__th__, 1997_

Lately, Lyn had been picking up on the thoughts and feelings of people besides the three of them, and living in the close confines of the trailer had made it worse. She barely spoke anymore and avoided Hank even more than usual; on the rare occasion they were in the trailer together, she refused to speak at all and just hid in their room, ignoring Michael when he asked her what was wrong.

At the moment, she and Isabel were sitting at a table in the corner of the lunch area picking at their food, while the eighth grade males around them stared and muttered to each other. Both girls had fully developed that year and were two of the curviest in the entire class, making them quite popular with the boys, if not so popular with the jealous girls.

Michael's glare had become even more prominent and he spent as much time as possible looming over Lyn's slight frame, scowling ferociously at every boy who looked her way. Max felt protective of Isabel too, but she didn't let him hover, so he had to settle for the occasional glare when she wasn't looking, or responding to comments when she wasn't around.

Michael was not oblivious to the pull of the opposite sex; just like the other boys he was full of all sorts of hormonal driven urges, but the only girls at school he thought were pretty, he saw as sisters.

The Parker girls had both been pretty, especially the one Lyn had been friends with, and he was sure that they had both grown up to be even more attractive. But he did not really know them, so thinking about them, about her, did not really feel like he was dreaming about a real person, but more like a character like that Jubilee girl he used to see when they were actually allowed to watch TV.

So while he had the same amount of fantasies and 'personal time' as the other boys their age, he was less than sympathetic when he heard them discussing those fantasies with each other when a real girl, especially one of his sisters, was in the starring role.

It made his palms itch with the urge to blast their smirking faces off and only the control he had built in the past several months prevented just that from happening. Instead he had memorized the names and schedules of the worst offenders and enacted a little plan of punishment, a plan he had not let Max in on for fear of the other boy's innate sense of fair play interfering.

The next day, five boys called in sick with a mysterious rash, at lunch the school administration decided it might be contagious and sent the students home early. In the parking lot, as they waited for Mrs. Evans to show up, Lyn punched a smirking Michael in the arm while their two friends watched amusedly.

"Stupid boys." Lyn said as they climbed in the car, both she and Michael resisting all attempts from Max and Isabel to get more information out of them.

_October 25__th__, 1997_

All of the guests had left other than Michael and Raelyn, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans had shooed them out to the backyard stating that neither Isabel nor her friends were allowed to help with the clean up from her birthday party. Max, unfortunately, fell into the category of family so he was still inside helping Mrs. Evans with the dishes.

Lyn shot her brother a look and got out of her chair. "I'm going to go grab a water bottle. I'll be right back."

Isabel nodded and Michael, after receiving a second pointed glare from his sister before she disappeared through the back door, reluctantly took her seat next to Isabel on the wooden porch and pulled a rolled up piece of paper out of his jacket.

"This is for you," he said shortly, handing it to her and then staring down at his hands as he cursed himself for letting Lyn talk him into it.

Isabel looked surprised but unrolled the paper and gasped as she saw the drawing that was revealed. It was her on the night they were 'born'. So tiny with short hair and big eyes. Her hand was stretched out and there was a small smile on her face, she knew it was the moment she had helped Michael out of his pod.

"Oh, Michael, it's beautiful," she said softly, blinking back tears as she looked up to see him blushing uncomfortably and refusing to meet her gaze.

Reaching out she hugged him and ignored the way he stiffened at her touch. "It's the best present I've ever gotten. Thank you."

After a moment he relaxed and even awkwardly hugged her back, causing her to smile. Isabel knew he didn't really believe it, but she considered him as much her brother as Max was and she had missed him every minute from the time the Evans found them until that day in third grade.

It was nice to know that he had thought of her too.

* * *

**A/N: **So just to clear up any potential misunderstanding this chapter was NOT a possible precursor to a Max/Lyn pairing. While I fully respect Cliffhangers and other pairings within the pod squad, to me they are family and I am trying to portray all four as siblings rather than just the two sets, so the goal here was just some bonding.


	8. Chapter Eight: Friends Like These

**A/N: **So the four of them are now beginning high school. We will start to see the human members of the group more and they will become a more important part of the storyline although maybe not in the order you would expect :-) Some canon events (not the shooting) may happen earlier than they did in the show. Also you might notice I don't have any of them driving yet but per the wonderful workup Gioia, EmilyluvsRoswell, Queenie, and Romantic Heart did, they can't drive until they're 15 and ½ and only Michael and Lyn are that age at this point and I figure they wouldn't have been able to get drivers licenses while living with Hank, at least not until they got jobs to pay for it. Max and Isabel will be that age soon but wouldn't be able to drive other people until sixteen anyways so none of them will be driving until the summer after freshman year.

Also in my story Michael may seem a bit OOC as he is going to be attending the majority of his classes and even doing well in them. My reasoning behind this is that the only reason Canon Michael didn't do well in school was choice. He didn't think he'd be staying on the planet; he didn't want to care about the human world because that made the inevitable disappointments hurt more. Now however he has a reason, a sister, who needs him and who he wants to protect. If she is in school then he needs to be as well in order to protect her and since she does well in school, such as taking advanced classes, he needs to as well in order to stay in as many classes as possible with her. However I promise not to sacrifice any of that gruff Guerin charm or loveable rebel tendencies on the altar of academics. His personality isn't going to change, just his grades.

* * *

_**Chapter Eight: Friends Like These**_

_September 5, 1998_

Raelyn walked through the doors of the high school, Isabel by her side, unable to repress the nervous butterflies in her stomach. She was not sure she could handle it, she was not sure that she even wanted to handle it. Ever since her abilities had grown, it had hurt to be around people and large groups were the hardest. High school? She had known the second they were a block away that it was going to be sheer torture. The emotions, the hormones - she shuddered, unable to stop herself or prevent her friend from noticing. Isabel reached out and rubbed her back, concern evident on her beautiful face.

"Are you okay? I know this is hard..." she trailed off as she felt Lyn's distress through their connection. "We could leave?"

Raelyn smiled. "Ditch on our first day? No one would believe that the perfect Miss Isabel would suggest such a thing, much less to me, Miss Bookworm. I'll be fine," she added reassuringly, "It's just...the boys."

Isabel nodded sympathetically. The two of them had both developed early and even in junior high had begun to attract more attention because of it, attention that with their gifts was even harder to take. "I'm just glad I only see it in their dreams. I don't think I could feel it all the time like you do."

Raelyn just gave her a brave smile, inwardly flinching from the constant bombardment of unregulated emotions; the students surrounding her were not the only ones directing attention her way lately. Her mind shrank from that thought, repressing it in an automatic gesture of self-defense to preserve what little emotional sanity she had left.

To her relief, the barriers she had been working on snapped up of their own accord and the roar of feelings and occasional thoughts died to a mere whisper. She only hoped it would last. "Let's go to class. I think Geometry is that way," she said, gesturing to the left. They entered the hallway, quickly disappearing into the chattering mass of students, just two more invisible teenagers the same as everyone else; if only that were true.

x

It was lunch and the four of them were sitting by a tree in the quad, eating silently as they watched the students interact, the ever-shifting groups and cliques. The outsiders watching the insiders; some things never changed.

Except when they did, she thought with a sigh as she saw two girls walk by and give Isabel a wave, a wave she returned. And Max, he had spent their entire lunch break talking about his lab partner, Liz, who had apparently returned to Roswell. She glanced over at her brother who was leaning against the tree and sullenly staring at the ground as Max chattered in his ear.

A small grin slipped over her face; he would always be the same, the angry rebel who didn't give a damn. His gaze rose from his feet to her face and a small answering smile curved his lips, disappearing a second later as the uncaring mask slipped back over his features. Yeah, some things never changed but she was glad; she wouldn't have it any other way.

_November 2__nd__, 1998_

"She actually talked to me today, asked me to hand her a beaker," Max said quietly, a dreamy smile on his face, and Michael groaned as his head thudded onto Max's desk.

"I agree that she's hot and all Maximillian, but either ask her out or get over it!"

Max frowned at him. "We can't let anyone in, Michael; you know that, you say it more than any of us."

"Dating doesn't mean telling her your deepest secrets Max," Michael replied dryly, knowing exactly how strong the pull of hormones was for both of them, alien or not. "I didn't say tell her you have extra terrestrial tendencies but I don't think any of us would mind if you took her to dinner or a picnic or whatever sappy thing you fantasize about."

In truth it was something he had considered himself when he realized, grudgingly, that Lyn was most likely going to want to date in a few years and that the only two people they knew who were in on their secret were family and not an option. But the only girl he thought remotely worth taking a chance on, was the same one his brother was over the moon for, so he would stick with glaring at any guy who looked at his sisters and ribbing Max every chance he got, hormones be damned.

Max looked lost in thought, maybe actually giving credence to something Michael had said. Michael didn't know whether to be happy at that small victory, or depressed at the thought of Max getting over himself and starting something with the tiny brunette that he couldn't help but find intriguing.

"Come on, let's go play Mario Kart. I still owe you an ass kicking."

The dreamy haze on Max's face cleared and he snorted as he leapt off the bed and shot Michael a grin. "In your dreams. That trophy is and will stay mine."

For the moment, Michael refrained from commenting, instead waiting until they were in the hall outside Isabel's room before calling out loudly, "Who wants to play Mario Kart?"

Both girls popped out of the room a moment later and followed them towards the family room with happy smiles. Max groaned and Michael smirked, punching his shoulder. "You might beat me, but Isabel trounces you every time."

"She trounces you too," Max pointed out with a raised eyebrow and Michael frowned, then shrugged, his next words putting the scowl back on Max's face.

"Still worth it."

_December 20, 1998_

Michael stared around the crowded store and mentally berated himself for agreeing to help Max with his shopping. Although, he thought with a smirk, he was better off than poor Lyn, stuck with the Christmas Nazi.

"How about this?" Max asked as he held up a red sweater with reindeer embroidered across the front.

"Sure, whatever," he replied, barely giving the sweater a glance before returning to glaring at the store clerk, who kept glancing their way as if expecting them to grab clothes and run. He followed Max silently as he walked around the racks after putting the sweater back, occasionally picking up things and muttering to himself, clearly having given up on getting any sort of feedback from his glowering companion.

Michael glanced at the clock on the store's wall and suppressed a grin as he realized that they were going to be late for the scheduled lunch with the girls at the food court. Isabel was going to flay Max. Apparently Max too had noticed the time, evidenced by the frantic rush to the counter. In his hurry to pay for his choices he dropped his money on the counter, sending coins bouncing on to the floor.

Michael let a rare public smile cross his face as Max went chasing after the rolling bits of metal, enjoying the priceless sight of his usually serious friend crawling around on the floor, weaving in and out of shocked female customers to find his money.

Ten minutes later, they made their way towards the food court while Max clutched his bags with an almost panicked expression on his face and Michael just smirked, hands in his pockets as he walked as slowly as Max would let him and cheerfully ignored his pleas to "Hurry!"

Spotting Lyn he gave a real smile. Her eyes were closed and she was leaning back in her chair as Isabel ranted to her. The two of them were surrounded by piles of bags, and, to his dismay, several groups of boys had sat close to them and were eying them with expressions that made him want to pummel their sneering faces into the linoleum floor. Glowering, he sat down in a chair next to his sister, staring menacingly at the surrounding tables, and then smiled inwardly with satisfaction as he saw several faces go pale.

"Finally!" Isabel exclaimed, her voice heavy with impatience. "I expect tardiness from Michael, but really, Max, you know better."

Her tirade continued with Max's blushes growing more and more intense, reaching a particularly awe inspiring shade of red when a gaggle of girls walked by and tittered his way, pointing and whispering behind their hands.

Michael and Lyn exchanged wry glances before Lyn decided to intervene, hoping to prevent Max from melting into a puddle of embarrassment on the mall floor.

"Come on Izzy, I'm starving and the line at Orange Julius is really short right now."

Isabel shot a few last parting remarks at Max, but grudgingly allowed the other girl to pull her to her feet as they headed for the smoothie bar, Lyn distracting her by debating the calorie count of regular hot dogs versus polish dogs.

Michael just laughed at the pathetic expression on his friend's face before 'gently' shoving him, the other boy almost falling out of his chair. "Go get us some food. Isabel will freak if we leave her bags unguarded." Not to mention, he thought with an internal scowl, the fact that he didn't have the money for food and that was the least embarrassing way for both of them since Max would insist on paying anyways.

Max nodded and jumped to his feet, heading for the pizza stand after receiving a 'what do you think?' look from Michael when he asked what the other boy wanted.

The rest of the mall trip passed in relative peace until Mrs. Evans dropped them off at the trailer. Luckily Hank wasn't home yet and they were able to safely ensconce themselves in their room, still shared despite their ages, and hide the few things that Lyn had purchased with the money she earned from tutoring.

"I'm going to start looking for jobs tomorrow," Michael said after a few moments of silence, his sister looking up from her notebook to stare at him.

"Just don't work too hard," was all she said after a moment and gave him a soft smile before turning her attention back to her homework.

He grunted and they fell into a companionable silence until they turned their lights off the moment they heard Hank's truck pull in and both silently wished that Winter Break was already over.


	9. Chapter Nine: New Horizons

_**Chapter Nine: New Horizons**_

_January 11__th__, 1999_

Raelyn dropped her bag next to a chair in the back of the computer lab and brought the screen up with a few clicks of the mouse. It was her second semester taking the computer class and the instructor had stated that he was going to leave her to her own devices unless one of his less competent students needed help.

To her surprise someone else sat next to her and away from the rest of the class after he received a familiar greeting from the Professor, and when she looked up she saw a tall lanky boy smiling engagingly at her.

"Hey, I'm Alex. Mind if I sit here?"

Shyly she shook her head and looked back at her computer screen, occasionally darting glances at him out of the corner of her eyes. Boys had learned not to talk to her or they would face the wrath of Michael Guerin, and other than Isabel she had found the freshman girls to be entirely too giggly and annoying for her tastes.

Part of her wanted to approach Liz again, try to strike up their friendship, but she was too afraid of rejection and felt too guilty when she remembered pushing the girl away after Isabel and Max started school.

"You're Raelyn right?"

The boy's question interrupted her thoughts and she nodded again, blushing faintly before working up her courage and speaking. "You already took this class?"

Alex nodded. "I was supposed to be in the Programming class this semester until they cancelled it so they stuck me in here. Officially I'm the TA, but Mr. Redmon doesn't need much help. What about you?"

"I took it last semester and had an open period, so he said that as long as I helped tutor if he needed it, I could use it as an extra study hall."

The dark-haired boy grinned and raised one eyebrow as he glanced at the internet browser she had pulled up with a site showing 'scientific' proof of psychic abilities. "I didn't realize we had a class on paranormal studies."

She giggled softly, still blushing, but gave him a raised eyebrow of her own after seeing the page he had just pulled up. "We don't teach blogging either."

"Touché!" he said with a chuckle. "It'll be our little secret."

Raelyn smiled warmly, blushes gone as she realized that she had just made her first friend outside of her family. Maybe high school was getting better.

_February 1__st__, 1999_

Michael watched the brunette girl intently as she studiously took notes, her eyes never wandering from the teacher or the notebook in front of her. Most people were open books to him, despite the fact that most people thought he didn't notice anyone but his family and, of course, the boys who talked to Lyn.

He was far more observant than people gave him credit for, and very rarely did he see anyone worth watching for any length of time; their conversations and reactions were so predictable that he often mentally projected their responses ahead of time to Lyn, who would just smile and roll her eyes when he gloated over his percentage of correct guesses.

This girl, though he had discovered, was rarely predictable, although he knew almost everyone would disagree with him. Max talked about her intelligence and sweet nature for hours a day, and her reputation as the perfect Miss Parker certainly seemed well deserved, but neither his best friend's passionate ramblings nor the student bodies' opinions. had included mentions of the personality he had seen her show when she thought no one was watching.

Like the way her lips would curve into a barely noticeable smile when the teacher quoted certain passages from King Lear and The Tempest, passages rife with double meaning and innuendo that most of the class missed in their Shakespeare induced stupor.

Or the time she had helped the teacher pass out papers and pressed a sticky note over his A 'And one man in his time plays many parts' before giving it to him with an amused smile.

There was certainly more to Miss Parker than met the eye and for the first time he found himself glad that he had worked hard enough to take the AP English class with his sister, although he was hard pressed to hide his fascination from her. The last thing he needed was her teasing or Max discovering that he was not the only alien with a growing obsession for the petite human girl.

_March 16__th__, 1999_

Alex and Raelyn were talking quietly in the back of the classroom when one of the students approached them. He was a sophomore and Liz's cousin, who had come to stay with them for a year; there were all sorts of rumors why, but Lyn didn't keep up with the gossip and Alex was one of Liz's best friends so both of them smiled friendlily at him.

At least until he gave Alex a polite smile before turning the full force of his considerable charm onto Lyn with a wide grin. That was when Alex stopped feeling so friendly.

"Hi, Raelyn?" At her nod he smiled wider, causing her to blush faintly. "The teacher said you were the one to ask for help with spreadsheets, think you could give me a hand?"

Raelyn nodded and locked her computer before walking around the table and following the boy back to his desk as Alex watched every move and tried not to glare. He was sure that the teacher had told Nick that both of them could help, if he had not specified Alex as the actual TA, which meant that the other boy just wanted someone to flirt with while they worked, assuming he even needed help.

Alex groaned and forcibly turned his eyes away from where Raelyn was sitting at Nick's computer, the boy hovering oh-so-attentively over her, and tried to think charitable thoughts towards him.

That resolution lasted two minutes, then Raelyn giggled and he hit the keyboard so hard a key popped off. Ignoring the teacher's amused glance, he reattached the key and went back to surreptitiously watching the other two over his monitor, suddenly grateful for his awkward height.

When Nick's hand brushed Lyn's shoulder and she blushed again, he gave it up as a lost cause and just stared at them, irritated by the fact that they were clearly too involved with each other to even notice his intense scrutiny.

Liz had told him he should just ask her out. She liked Raelyn although he knew they never spoke outside of class, and even Maria, once he assured her that she would always be one of his girls, had encouraged him to go for it. Clearly he should have taken their advice, he thought sourly as Raelyn laughed again and stood up. They exchanged a few more comments and then Raelyn turned around. Alex quickly diverted his gaze to the computer screen and prayed that she had not seen the glare on his face.

Apparently she had not and she sat down next to him with a happy sigh. Gritting his teeth, he bit back the sarcastic comments he was dying to make and waited. Suddenly Raelyn touched his arm and he looked up to see her beautiful always changing eyes staring worriedly at him. "I've never been on a date before, Alex. What am I supposed to wear? What are we supposed to talk about?"

Alex felt the blood drain out of his face as he realized that once again he was relegated to being the male friend girls talked to for advice about the boys they were really interested in. But he cared about her and so he smiled and tried to think of something encouraging to say.

Maybe he should let his dad send him to military school, no girls there to torment himself with.

_Later that day..._

"You're what?" her brother exclaimed, eyes wide with shock as he stared at her.

"I'm going on a date," she stated firmly, her tone leaving no room for opposition.

Unless, of course, you were an overprotective older brother. "With who?" he asked as he racked his brain for everyone who had ever looked at his sister and realized with a sinking feeling that the list was far too long for his liking, even though it was not nearly as long as Isabel's.

"Nick, Liz's cousin. We're going to a movie this Friday night and you are not coming along to chaperone, spy, or threaten him."

Michael both relaxed and tensed at hearing the name. Nick had developed a reputation as a bad boy and he knew plenty of girls who wanted to go out with him, girls older and more popular than Lyn. Why did he want to go out with his sister, a freshman even if she was older than most? Michael could think of plenty of reasons and none of them made him very happy.

On the other hand, he was Liz Parker's cousin and he trusted her judgment despite the fact that they had spoken all of ten words to each other since he accepted his fascination with her. Still, it was his _sister_ and he was not going to let anyone sweep her off her feet without going through him first.

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**A/N:** The quote Liz used on Michael's paper is taken directly from Shakespeare's As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII.


	10. Chapter Ten: Turning Tides

**A/N:** How much do you all love me that I did the research and the movie they go see actually came out on March 19th, 1999 which was a Friday…I totally rock ;-) Also Portofino's is an actual restaurant in Roswell although whether it was there in 1999 or not I have no clue.

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_**Chapter Ten: Turning Tides**_

_March 19__th__, 1999_

Michael had arranged for his Friday shift to end half an hour early so he would have time to interrogate Nick before Lyn finished her last tutoring session and they left for the movie. The tall sandy haired boy was lounging on the front steps, several hallways away from the library where Lyn was.

For a moment Michael just stood on the path and waited for Nick to notice him while he loomed as only big brothers can loom.

It only took Nick a few seconds to realize that he wasn't alone and when his eyes reached Michael's broad frame and saw just who was standing there, he raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Michael right?"

"Hello Nick," Michael said with a disturbingly pleasant smile, his voice hiding just the barest hint of menace. Allowing the smile to drop, he stalked over to the other boy, standing in front of Nick's slumped frame with his arms held loosely at his sides. "What are your plans for this evening with my _sister_?"

Nick just smiled before he rose casually to his feet. "I'm taking Raelyn to see 'The King and I', we're going to Portofino's for dinner first, and if we have time we'll stop by the Crashdown for milkshakes afterwards." The whole sentence was said with a calm and steady voice and the polite smile remained on his face; Nick refused to let the bad tempered hulk intimidate him.

He genuinely liked Raelyn and he was not as much of a bad boy as his reputation suggested, and while Michael certainly looked scary enough and had an interesting reputation to say the least, as far as he knew he had never actually hurt someone.

Liz seemed of the opinion that he was just a scary looking teddy bear. Of course, he thought with the first beginnings of nerves as Michael's left fist clenched, no one had ever asked out his sister before.

As Michael opened his mouth to speak again, a voice interrupted him. "What do you think you're doing Michael? I told you not to threaten him," Raelyn said as she came through the doors, her voice light and teasing although her eyes burned into her brother's for a moment before she turned to Nick with a smile. "Good thing my tutee had late Cheerleading practice."

While she was speaking out loud to Nick, mentally she berated her brother, _'Leave him alone Michael, or so help me I will tell Liz you like her!' _When his mouth gaped slightly before he could control his reaction she had to hide her grin.

Taking Nick's offered hand she gave Michael a quick smile. _'You can't hide things from me Michael, and I won't tell Max but I think you should ask her out.'_ Out loud she said, "Nick is going to drop me off between nine and ten. Don't forget to eat dinner."

Michael scowled at her, partly in answer to her silent lecture and partly at her blasé treatment of the date and his concerns, so when he snapped at her it was his frustration talking. "Yes, _Mom_."

Her eyes first widened in surprise and then narrowed slightly. "I'll meet you at your car Nick. I'll just be a second."

Nick darted a glance between the two of them, but nodded and walked down the steps.

As soon as his footsteps had receded, she stepped forward until there were bare inches of space between her and her brother. "I know you're worried about me and I know you're afraid of how you're feeling about Liz and what it could mean for Max and for you, but don't take it out on me."

She smiled and continued silently, _'I mean really, Michael, if I can read your mind when you're trying to block me, do you really think Nick could hide anything from me?'_

Michael's shoulders slumped and he sighed before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. "Just don't go falling in love on me, okay?"

Hugging him back she grinned into his chest, knowing that his words were as close to an apology as she was going to get. "I won't," Pulling away, she headed for the parking lot and threw a parting shot over her shoulder. "Not before you anyway!"

He growled, but let it slide and then followed her down the path. Maybe Max was free; he was in no mood to head home.

_Later that night…_

Raelyn thanked her lucky stars that Hank never came home before three in the morning on Friday nights as Nick's old green Honda pulled up in front of their battered trailer. When he looked doubtfully at the unlit structure, she flushed in embarrassment until he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I had fun tonight Lyn. I'd like to take you out again but for now, how about lunch on Monday? I have a free period right before and can go get some burgers from my Uncle's restaurant so we don't have to eat cafeteria sludge."

Lyn blushed and nodded, cursing her fair skin. "I'd like that too."

When he lightly touched her chin and leaned towards her slow enough to give her time to pull away, she chose not to and let him kiss her, his lips warm and dry against her own.

A sudden thud startled them and she turned her head to see that Michael had appeared in the doorway of the trailer and was glaring fiercely at them.

She shook her head and grinned, then turned back to Nick and gave him a kiss on the cheek before opening the car door. "I'll see you Monday." Closing the door behind her, she walked up to her brother and smiled at the familiar scowl on his face. She really did love him.

_April 5__th__, 1999_

Spanish was the one class Michael had with Liz that his sister did not also attend; Lyn had whizzed through Spanish in Jr. High with the help of one of their neighbors in the Trailer Park and was taking French that year.

It was the one hour a day he could watch her freely since their other classmates were far too intimidated by him to notice where his gaze strayed other than not them, and the rest of his family had other classes.

The petite girl had lost her usual glow in the past few weeks and was looking decidedly pale and distant. Her class participation had dropped and he had actually seen her nod off a few times, never for more than a few seconds, and she had always jerked awake before anyone else noticed, but still often enough for him to see it and wonder.

Liz Parker was not the type to fall asleep in class and he could not help but be concerned, especially since he wasn't the only one worried. He didn't mean Max, as he had a feeling that Liz was more awake in science, but he had seen Liz's sister shooting her concerned glances in the halls and even going so far as to snap at their friend Maria when her chatter reached piercing new heights.

So for the first time in his school career, he abandoned his back row seat to sit just behind Liz Parker in the second row. To say people that were shocked would be an understatement of magnitude comparable to people calling New York 'kind of big'.

The students first stared, and then hurriedly looked away at his fierce scowl, while the teacher just raised an eyebrow before continuing with class as usual.

Liz for her part looked back at him with one of her expressive eyebrows arched in curiosity. "Why Michael, did all that glaring damage your eyesight? Finding it hard to see the board?"

He chuckled, unreasonably glad that she was not the least bit intimidated by him. "Your snoring was distracting me so I figured if I was here to poke you awake I might be able to go back to not paying attention."

Something flickered in her large dark eyes, but then she smiled, the expression just a touch brittle around the edges. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that little old me had the power to distract such an impressive brooding machine. I will do my best to be quieter in the future."

The words were teasing, but the tone lacked bite and did nothing to allay his worries. He could feel the 'Are you ok?' hovering on the tip of his tongue but wasn't sure if he could or should say it.

Before he could choose, the teacher interrupted them and they both turned to face the front of the class, Michael unable to decide if he was relieved or angry that the teacher had prevented him from speaking.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Winds of Change

**A/N: **Another short one but we only have two more chapters left until this fic is over and we move on to the next in the series.

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven: Winds of Change**_

_May 10__th__, 1999_

Michael had been working the past few months as a bagger at the small grocery store down the street from the High school, the only place willing to hire a just-turned-fifteen-year old from the wrong side of the tracks.

It was close enough to the school that Raelyn would just wait in the Computer Lab for him to get off work if she did not have any tutoring appointments, and Alex had taken to waiting with her when he did not have other plans, at least on the days when Nick was not waiting with her.

As much as Alex might wish it otherwise, Nick and Raelyn were still dating and she seemed happy, too happy for him to reveal his jealousy. That day though she seemed worried and distant, and she had barely replied to any of his attempts at conversation.

"Hey, Rae Rae, what's wrong?" he asked finally, turning her chair so she had to look at him.

She looked at him with a faint smile; he knew she found the nickname amusing, but the smile didn't reach her eyes and her face quickly turned serious again. At that moment her eyes were a deep shade of blue with barely any hint of green, and he had the feeling that she was evaluating him, judging him on some internal meter the way Liz's sister sometimes did.

When she spoke, she reached up to tug at her curls, a nervous habit he had only seen her resort to when she was particularly stressed. "Our foster father – he…he's not very nice. Mr. Evan's, Isabel and Max's dad, has offered to help us try for emancipation."

Alex wanted to pursue her comment about Hank, but also didn't want to push her back into silence; it was rare for her to open up even that much and he was glad that she trusted him enough to speak at all. "Are you going to go for it?"

"I don't know," she said, chewing on one dark red curl with obvious distress. "It would mean we'd have to get jobs with more hours in addition to school, and we wouldn't be able to afford an apartment in a nice area of town. It would be better than the trailer park, but Michael doesn't like the idea of me being home alone or having to walk alone if he has to work."

She trailed off before attempting a faltering smile. "It's only three more years anyways."

Alex impulsively pulled her to him for a hug, worried even more when he could feel her trembling against him. "If you need anything, anything at all. Just let me know."

Raelyn sniffed slightly and then pulled away, her smile a little less shaky. "Thank you Alex. I will."

Suddenly all signs of sadness disappeared from her face and a grin appeared that, if he had seen it without knowing what she looked like before, he would have assumed it was real.

"Hugging my girl Alex?" came Nick's deep voice from behind him, the tone teasing, but making Alex tense all the same. It bothered him that Rae apparently did not want to show Nick what she really felt, and at the same time made him happy that she was willing to show him the real her.

He saw the faint pleading look in her eyes so he turned and smiled at the other boy, doing his best to appear genial. "You know me, always up for a hug! You next?"

Nick laughed. "I think I'll pass this time buddy." He walked forward and took Raelyn's hand. "I just came to offer this little lady a ride home."

"Thank you, Nick," Raelyn said softly before shooting Alex one last grateful smile. "I'll talk to you later Alex."

Alex nodded and waved as they walked out of the classroom, his brown eyes dark with worry. There was more going on than Rae was telling him but he did not know how else to find out. It wasn't like he could ask Michael.

Or could he?

The only other option was Rae's best friend, Isabel, and while he thought there was more to the beautiful blonde than most people saw, he had to admit that she intimidated him more than Michael, as unmanly as that might be to admit.

Decisions, decisions.

_May 30__th__, 1999_

Alex had finally gotten the courage to talk to Michael and approached him at lunch. The much larger boy was sitting under his usual tree, scowling at anyone and everyone who looked his way.

The glare focused with laser like intensity on Alex as he stood hesitantly in front of the brooding young man, but before he could bring himself to open his mouth, that glare shifted to something behind him and softened unexpectedly.

Raelyn appeared and sat down next to her brother, resting her head on his shoulder and looking unbearably sad. Alex ignored Michael's warning glance and knelt down in front of her. "What happened, Rae?"

Her chin tilted up and she appeared to notice him for the first time, while both boys noted the tears sparkling in her eyes. "Nick's going back to Florida at the end of the school year next month. He…he told me that he didn't want to wait until then to end things, that it would be harder."

Michael growled and wrapped his arm around Raelyn, pulling her closer to him even as his eyes restlessly searched the quad looking for the idiot that had just dumped his sister, all irritation with Alex forgotten as the other boy murmured comforting things to her.

Nick never should have asked her out in the first place if he was going to leave, and he would make sure he pointed that out to the boy, at length.

Michael finally located him sitting across a table from Liz and her sister. To his surprise Liz was gesturing angrily at her cousin, her voice clearly raised and the occasional finger in their direction indicating just what she was yelling at him about.

He smiled; he knew he liked that girl. Maybe once Nick was gone and the memory of Michael pounding him into a bloody pulp had faded, he would try to have a real conversation with the brunette. Maybe.

* * *

**A/N:** Have no fear, Michael will work at the Crashdown and sooner than in Canon, I think, but I have some important plot related reasons for him not working there yet that will be revealed in the next part of this series, not this story.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Old Secrets

**A/N:** This chapter will contain scenes referencing child abuse including references to attempted sexual abuse. If that bothers you please do not read further.

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve: Old Secrets**_

_July 13__th__, 1999_

It was summer again, the best three months of most teenagers' lives, and the worst three for Michael and his sister. Something had happened yesterday when he was out with Max. When he'd come home, Hank was gone and Lyn had locked herself in their room and was dead white and shaking, curled up in the corner of her bed as she stared at the door with haunted, unseeing eyes.

He had begged her out loud and mentally to tell him what was wrong, but she wouldn't speak, just stared at the door and trembled, ignoring everything he did and said to try and get her to snap out of it.

The only time she reacted at all was when he said he was going to ask Isabel over, and then she shook her head violently and glared at him with tears in her eyes.

So instead he just sat next to her, arm around her shoulders, worrying. He ended up sleeping like that, nodding off after it got dark and waking once at three in the morning to see that she had fallen asleep too, although even in sleep she was tense, arms still locked around her knees.

Hank still wasn't home. If he had been, the TV would have been blaring and he had a feeling that Lyn would have been wide awake and staring at the door again.

When he did get home, Michael was going to throw away years of caution and slam the potbellied man against a wall until he told him what he did or said to turn his sister catatonic.

Depending on the answer, he might do a lot worse to the man who no longer seemed as tall and menacing as he had when they were six.

He tucked a pillow between Lyn's head and the wall and leaned back, trying to will himself back asleep. If only he had mastered dreamwalking, was his last thought before he drifted off again.

_July 14__th__, 1999_

Alex raised his hand to knock on the metal door of the trailer when he heard a thud and a soft feminine cry of distress followed by angry male voices. He lowered his hand and, after debating with himself for a moment, darted around to the back of the trailer, halting suddenly as he saw Michael kneeling down beside Rae on the tattered grass just past the back step, his hand glowing as it touched the finger shaped bruises on her arm.

Rae raised her face to meet his, knowing he was there just as she always did, and for the first time he saw terror in the crystalline depths of her eyes. Michael spun as Alex involuntarily gasped, the other boy's hand raised defensively towards him. "Michael, no!" she cried, grabbing his arm as she too rose to her feet.

Tension charged the air until finally Michael let out a breath and lowered his hand, although his eyes still bored into the other boy's face. "Are you going to tell?"

Alex stared back, not willing to back down until he knew who exactly had placed those bruises on Rae's arm. "Tell what? That apparently you can make your hand glow?"

Rae tightened her grip on her brother's arm as his face darkened and then placed herself between the two young men. "Think about where we live, Alex." A brief and sad smile crossed her lips. "What else could there possibly be to tell?"

He remained silent for a moment, knowing exactly what she meant, but unable to repress the logical side of his mind that said it was an impossibility despite the many tiny clues he was just then piecing together. "You're an alien," he finally stated, looking at Michael over Rae's head, only faintly surprised by the small nod.

"And you?" he asked, looking back down at the girl he considered to be one of his best friends, a girl he would like to be more.

"I'm human, or at least I used to be."

He raised an eyebrow at that, but his priorities at that particular moment did not include finding out every detail of their apparent alien status. He reached out and lightly touched the bruise beginning to darken her cheekbone.

"Who hit you?" She bit her lip and glanced at the trailer before looking back at him, the vulnerability in her eyes tearing at his heart. He glared at the brooding young man behind her, "And you let him?"

Rae gasped and opened her mouth to protest, but Michael's guilt stricken voice prevented her, "Yes, I didn't think he would hit _her_." The emphasis on the last word wasn't lost on Alex.

He glanced down as Michael spoke and saw Rae's own guilt shining from her eyes.

"It's not the first time is it?" he asked softly, holding her chin so she could not look away. She hesitated, clearly afraid.

"No."

He heard Michael begin swearing, but didn't look back at him yet, "Has he touched you?" A sudden shocked silence fell and he realized that Michael had never even considered the possibility.

She tried to dodge his gaze before closing her eyes briefly when he tightened his hold. When she opened them again, he could see tears glittering like blue diamonds, "He's tried, but I, I always stopped him. Made him..." she trailed off and half turned towards her brother. "When he touched me I read him. I could see…see what he wanted." She paused and he could feel her trembling beneath his hand.

"I wanted it to stop. I wanted him to go away and he did. It was like I made him want something else, made him forget what he was doing." She turned back towards Alex, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't like it. I felt dirty, like I was using him like...like he wanted to use me." She raised her eyes to meet his, "I'm not a bad person. I'm not." Her voice caught as she choked back a sob.

Alex pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tightly as he could while she cried into his chest. He looked at Michael, seeing the clenched fists and the suspicious glitter in his eyes. "You both need to leave, permanently."

Michael nodded slowly. "Now, we'll take her to the Evans."

Alex nodded back in silent agreement, Rae had told him of Mr. Evans' offer of help, and he knew they both stayed there frequently. A thought struck him. "Are they like you?"

Michael stared at him warily for a moment before answering with a short. "Yes."

He filed it away for later thought and began to guide Rae towards his car, opening the door and settling her into the front passenger seat before hopping into the driver's seat and turning the key in the ignition, not bothering to ask if there were any belongings they needed to grab.

The ride was spent in silence once Rae's sobs quieted, each of them brooding on past mistakes, what ifs, and what was going to happen to them in the future. Alex pulled up against the curb once they reached the house, and was about to open the door when Michael stopped him, turning to his sister.

"You should let me heal the rest of them, before anyone sees." Alex frowned a moment in puzzlement until he realized that the bruises on her arm were gone, that was the purpose of the glowing he had seen.

Rae reached up to touch her face, wincing slightly, and then shook her head. "No, we might need evidence, proof." He saw the disagreement written on her brother's abnormally expressive face and privately felt the same, not wanting her to be in pain any longer than necessary. But she was right, and he could tell by the stubborn set of her chin that she wasn't going to be persuaded to change her mind.

"Fine," Michael growled out before shoving his way out of the car and forcefully shutting the door. Alex bit back a reprimand and tucked the keys in his pocket before he too exited the vehicle, Rae joining them on the sidewalk as they walked towards the house.

Isabel met them at the door, opening it before they even reached the steps, her eyes going directly towards Rae's bruised face before angrily raising to meet Michael's. "Are you here to talk to my dad, or Max?"

Alex didn't quite understand the question but he saw the anger building in Michael's already tense frame and answered for him, "Your dad. They're getting out of that house."

Isabel looked at him in surprise, not expecting the sudden ally. Her beautiful brown eyes widened further in shock and fear when Rae blurted out, "He knows; everything..." but she shook it off and pulled them into the house, arm going around Rae as she silently led them towards her father's office, eyes darting toward him every now and then, the caution in her eyes finally understood. The reason behind the ice made clear.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Butterfly Wings

**A/N: **Here we go people, this is the last chapter in this story and then we move on to Book Two, which fair warning, will not pick up where this one left off but instead will go back in time again. You'll see what I mean ;-) Anyways, enjoy, and I will post the first chapter of Tread the Brink of Dreams in a couple weeks.

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_**Chapter Thirteen: Butterfly Wings**_

_Still July 14__th__, 1999_

Philip looked up in surprise when both of his children, Michael and his sister, and another boy he didn't know; all came trooping into his home office. Then he noticed the bruise marring Raelyn's cheek, and the furious expression on Michael's face, and realized why they were here. If only they had come to him sooner.

Standing up, he came around the desk and lightly touched Raelyn's chin, tilting it so that he could see the black eye forming under the yellow glow from his desk lamp. He turned to give Michael his best intimidating lawyer glare, and ignored the way the boy was growling under his breath at seeing him touch his sister. "Hank did this?" he said, more statement than question, and at Michael's nod he continued. "You're not going back there." That time there was not even a hint of a question in his flat tone.

"No." It was Raelyn and she stepped back away from him slightly, trying to smile and failing as she took her brother's hand. "We're not."

"You can stay with us," Philip started to say, Isabel nodding fiercely and wrapping her arm around the shorter girl, looking sad and happy at the same time, but Michael shook his head.

"We want to try the emancipation thing you suggested, get our own place."

Philip opened his mouth to protest, wanting to help them, feeling guilty for not stepping in sooner, and knowing how hard it would be on their own, but the look on Raelyn's face stopped him.

"We'll come to you if we need anything. I promise," the girl said softly and he ignored the protest on his own daughters face to nod his acquiescence. Maybe they needed the independence, to move on from whatever that sorry excuse for a man put them through.

_Later that night…_

Diane walked into her husband's office after ordering pizza for the kids and found him leaning on the desk, head in his hands and his shoulders stiff with tension. When she started to rub them, he shuddered lightly and spoke, his voice muffled. "I should have got them out years ago. They didn't say anything, but this wasn't the first time. As soon as Max and Izzy started talking about them in the third grade we should have just paid Hank off and adopted them too."

"Yes, we should have," Diane said pragmatically as her thumbs dug in to work out the knots of tension just above his shoulder blades. "But we didn't and we can help them now, better than anyone else could. You get the appointment with the judge and I'll talk to our accountant about setting aside some monthly funds. They'll never accept help from us outright, but if we say it's financial assistance from the state for emancipated minors I think they'll take it."

For the first time since he had seen the bruise on Raelyn's face, Philip felt his spirits lift and he turned in his chair to pull Diane onto his lap and kiss her soundly. "You are brilliant."

Diane laughed and kissed him back. "I know. Now put a smile on and go get some pizza."

"Yes ma'am."

_July 22__nd__, 1999_

The appointment with the judge had gone smoothly. Both Lyn and Michael already had sources of income, she through her tutoring at the school and him through his job at the grocery store, so they could mostly prove financial independence, although Lyn was searching for a job that would make steadier money.

The abuse was all the reason they needed to leave without the consent of their guardian, and Philip and Diane's standing in the community made them perfect advocates. The official paperwork would not come through for another week and they were staying with the Evan's until then, but they could start apartment hunting right away.

There were not many housing options in Roswell that they could afford, and they quickly found and signed for a small two bedroom apartment in the heart of town. Until they turned eighteen, Diane had told them that their rent would be partially paid for by the government, and that they would each receive a monthly allowance although they were expected to obtain employment.

The Evan's had given them an advance on their first checks as they waited for the paperwork to go through, and Lyn used hers to purchase furnishings for the apartment. Isabel, Alex, and her making the rounds of the few thrift stores in town and in nearby Albuquerque. They managed to find a few things that, with the help of a little alien magic, would do quite nicely.

Michael wasn't too keen on the idea of letting Isabel help with decorating, but Lyn had made it quite clear he had no say in anything but his bedroom, and that she wouldn't let the other girl do anything too damaging to his manly image.

In the end Michael quite liked the deep chocolate carpet, cream walls, and the alien repaired, coffee-colored leather couch. He used his money to pay for the TV and some groceries, since they knew better than to accept Diane's offer to cook for them and had foisted her off with the protestation that she had already helped them too much.

The feeling of independence was heady and, despite the cost, he found himself glad that they had gotten out when they did. If they had lived with Hank longer someone would have ended up dead. It was better that way.

It would be harder to balance school and work, even taking into consideration the fact that they needed less sleep than most people, but seeing the fear fade from Lyn's eyes and feeling his own constant tension start to dissipate was entirely worth it.

_August 1__st__, 1999_

Isabel threw them a celebration party when they officially moved into their new apartment. Alex was the only guest who was not family, but it still felt like too many people in one small space for Michael, although he could tell that Lyn loved it. A tiny, highly repressed part of him had briefly wished that he could have told Isabel or Alex to invite Liz and maybe her sister, but the rest of him knew that it would have caused more issues than he wanted to deal with right then.

Just because he had stubbornly decided that he would talk to the girl, Max be hanged, did not mean he had to get all sappy and invite her to his housewarming party. Just the thought of those words made him shudder and he quickly turned his thoughts in another, if less happier direction.

He was still reeling from finding out that Hank had been hitting Lyn for years, and that she had been hiding it from him so he would not do anything to the creep. The thought of him doing to her some of the things he had done to Michael, or worse, woke him every night with nightmares he could not hide from his telepathic sister.

The fact that she would not talk to him about them, proved more than anything that his nightmares were probably close enough to the truth to make him want to go hunt Hank down and bury him, preferably alive.

Philip had told him that he called the Sheriff the night after they showed up, but Hank had taken the trailer and left. The Sheriff had not wanted to pursue him, saying it was good riddance of bad trash.

It made Michael glad that he had snuck out the night before and grabbed his sketchbook and Lyn's camera along with whatever personal belongings he could carry. It also made him furious that Hank had not been there so he had not had a chance to give the man a taste of his own medicine before he left.

Max was helping Isabel hang some of Lyn's photos that she had bought frames for, and Lyn was curled up on the couch with Alex, talking in low tones. The boy had a million questions about what they could do and where they came from.

It would have bothered Michael more if he was not so aware of just how much more Lyn smiled when Alex was around. He had a feeling he would need to talk with the other boy soon about not breaking his sister's heart when he finally got around to telling her how he felt.

Michael scratched his eyebrow and turned to grab another soda from the fridge, he must be getting soft.

_September 18__th__, 1999_

Summer was almost over and Isabel had dragged Raelyn shopping for new outfits, Alex was hanging out with Liz and her sister, and Michael was with Max somewhere. Raelyn was getting very sick of the mall and when Isabel gestured to one more shop despite the multiple bags dangling from both of their arms, she dug in her heels.

"Enough, Isabel. I'm tired and hungry. Can we at least get lunch before we go…" She glanced at the very pink shop and blushed. "…lingerie shopping?"

Isabel gave a long suffering sigh but nodded. "Fine, let's eat, but we are getting you some sexy under things missy," she said with a warm glare, and then her lips turned up into a smirk. "I'm sure Alex would appreciate you shopping there."

"Izzy!" Raelyn gasped and blushed furiously.

The statuesque blonde just laughed and linked her arm through the petite redhead's. "Like I haven't noticed the way you look at him. Now come on. I want some egg rolls."

Raelyn just sputtered for a moment, but let herself be dragged along and by the time they reached the food court, had managed to convince herself that Isabel was insane because there was no way she could feel that way about Alex, Alex who only saw her as one of his girls.

Then all thoughts of anything were pushed away when they sat down at one of the faintly sticky red tables and felt a wash of power flow through them. Their eyes met as the bond crackled with energy and they could both feel each other's dread, something had just happened, something huge.

_Across Town…_

Michael watched Liz whisper and giggle with her sister and their friend Maria after scamming a customer, and his gut clenched when he realized that Max was staring at her too, the other boy completely oblivious to his companion's shared fascination for the brunette.

He dragged his eyes away when he heard the arguing in the corner, the sounds of two men yelling grating on his nerves as something he had not had to listen to since they left the trailer park. When the gun came out he froze, time slowing down as they struggled, and then a bullet flew through the air to hit the tender flesh of Liz Parker's stomach.

His heart stopped.

Frantic thoughts of healing, of calling 911, of doing anything but sitting there, unable to move flashed through his mind, and then Max leapt to his feet, ready to charge in like a white knight on his damn stallion.

Michael grabbed his arm but let go a moment later, not because of Max's frantic words or the passion in his eyes, but because he could not bear the thought of Liz Parker not being there for him to watch.

Max placed his hand on her stomach and Michael held back the customers, unable to look behind him for fear that his brother succeeded and fear that he did not. Everything was going to change.

* * *

**A/N:** The state of New Mexico does not actually provide any financial aid for emancipated minors; if you can't prove you can make it on your own, you don't get emancipated. They could have applied for welfare or food stamps but I thought what the Evans' did fit a little better.


End file.
